Visualizing YouTube’s Global Reach and Revenue Potential Using Tableau

Introduction:

Imagine coming home from work or school, feeling tired, exhausted, and maybe even stressed, especially if there’s a project or presentation due tomorrow. But now, with YouTube just a click away, you’ve got the chance to binge-watch for the next few hours. Before you know it, four hours have flown by, and that project’s still waiting for you.

This article dives into data from YouTube’s platform, exploring the trends and statistics behind the world’s largest video-sharing site.

The following article focuses on data from YouTube’s platform, highlighting some of the key trends and statistics behind the world’s largest video-sharing site.

Here’s a look at the topics we’ll dive into:

• Total view count by geographical region: Which countries contribute to the highest number of views on YouTube?
• YouTube channel categories with the highest earnings growth: Discover which types of channels are seeing the most rapid revenue growth.
• Channels with the highest yearly revenue potential: If you were to start a YouTube channel today, which category would likely yield the highest earnings in a year?
• Percentage breakdown of the top 5 video categories uploaded in the last 30 days: An overview of the most popular types of videos currently uploaded on YouTube.

Data Analysis and Findings:

To kick off our data visualization, let's start by looking at which countries generate the most views on YouTube. Here, we'll focus on the top 5 countries.

As you can see, the United States ranks number 1 with the highest view count. This isn't too surprising, given that YouTube was founded in the U.S., and people use the platform for far more than just entertainment. From cooking tutorials to educational content, news, sports, and of course, cat videos, YouTube has something for everyone.

Next up, in the number 2 spot, is India, which also makes sense due to its large population and growing internet access. Rounding out the top 5, we have Mexico at number 3, followed by Australia, and finally, the United Kingdom.

Here’s the total breakdown of the view rankings for the top 5 countries we just mentioned:

• United States – Video Views Rank: 76,782,435
• India – Video Views Rank: 17,644,199
• Mexico – Video Views Rank: 15,009,450
• Australia – Video Views Rank: 11,684,243
• United Kingdom – Video Views Rank: 10,830,787

As you can see, the U.S. is way ahead, with a view rank that leaves all the other countries in the dust. It’s pretty amazing! This just shows how much potential there is if you’re thinking about starting a YouTube channel aimed at a U.S. audience.

The second chart shows the top 10 YouTube channel categories that pull in the highest revenue. As you can see, Entertainment takes the top spot, followed by Music. No surprise here, most people hop on YouTube to watch something fun or relax with their favorite tunes.

The "People" category also brings in a lot of viewers. This includes personal vlogs, talk shows, day-in-the-life videos, life advice, and more.

Education content is another big one, with tons of popular channels teaching everything from math to history to life skills.

And finally, there’s Gaming, which is huge on YouTube. Depending on the type of viewer you are, there can sometimes be a blurred line between Gaming and Entertainment.

Here are the numbers for the highest earnings by channel category:

• Entertainment: 213,649,819
• Music: 123,461,651
• People: 68,246,242
• Comedy: 37,968,214
• Education: 36,959,100
• Games: 34,523,020
• News: 21,049,200
• Film: 19,513,500
• Sports: 8,576,300
• Animals: 8,500,000

As you can see, there’s a pretty big gap in earnings between Entertainment and Music, but Comedy, Education, and Games are all fairly close in terms of overall revenue.

As you can see in this graph, the broader categories are mostly the same as what we discussed earlier in terms of overall channel revenue. However, there are some exceptions, like Film & Animation and the Shows category.

What I really love about this graph is that it not only highlights the main categories but also breaks down the sub-categories within those broader groups.

For example, if we look at the "People & Blogs" category, the gray area represents the "People" channel type, followed by News, Music, How-tos, Games (a small sliver), Film, and so on. It’s a neat way to see which specific channel types are the most profitable within their broader categories.

Last but not least, here’s a graph showing the top video categories with the highest number of uploads in the last 30 days. News & Politics takes the top spot, followed by Entertainment, People & Blogs, and so on. The smallest slices go to Music (the dark green section) and Gaming (the light green section right next to it).

Conclusion:

In conclusion, I found this data visualization to be fascinating, as visual representations are often the most effective way to showcase statistics and trends to a broader audience.

From just a quick look at these visualizations, here are some key takeaways from this Tableau dashboard:

• The U.S. leads the world in view rank, surpassing India by a staggering 59,138,236 views.
• If you’re aiming for high overall and yearly revenue, the Entertainment channel category seems to be the best route.
• To maximize monthly views, consider uploading News & Political content, as it consistently ranks high in popularity.

If you enjoyed this article and want to see more of my data analyses, please feel free to like, comment, and connect!